Republicans To Call DHS Sec. For Hearing On Release Of Criminal Aliens

14 May 2014

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), one of the most important Republicans on the immigration issue, expressed outrage about the Department of Homeland Security releasing thousands of criminal aliens from detention. Now he’s planning to bring DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson before his committee for answers.

The House Judiciary Committee expecting to Johnson before the committee about the 36,007 criminal aliens ICE released last year later this month, a committee aide told Breitbart News.

Monday, the Center for Immigration Studies released a report detailing an internal ICE document which showed that 36,007 immigrants convicted of nearly 88,000 crimes were released back into the United States last year.

Following the release of the leaked documents, Goodlatte and former Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) issued a joint statement blasting the agency.

“Over a month ago, the House Judiciary Committee requested that DHS provide information about criminal aliens identified by federal authorities and released into our communities but our questions have gone unanswered,” Goodlatte and Smith said Monday.

“This information is important to inform Congress about the problem of criminal aliens so that we make the right policy decisions moving forward,” they added. “The Committee plans to hold an oversight hearing on DHS in the coming weeks and will expect Secretary Johnson to come clean and provide the Committee with answers to our questions.”

On April 11, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to DHS requesting a slew of information related to the release of criminal immigrants back into the United States.

The Judiciary Committee staffer added Wednesday that if the committee has not received a response from DHS to its April letter requesting information about the administration’s release of immigrants convicts of crimes before then members want Johnson to answer at the hearing.